LI Network
Published on: November 01, 2023 at 17:59 IST
The Madras High Court has ruled that the quarantine period during the Covid-19 pandemic should be considered an extension of Covid duty. This decision provides relief to a postgraduate medical student who had to serve in a Covid ward and fulfill a bond obligation. The student executed a bond to serve the state for two years after completing their course in General Medicine.
Justice Anita Sumanth stated, “The period of quarantine is nothing but an extension of Covid duty itself as the rules at that time required mandatory quarantine. The petitioner would have continued with the duty in the Covid ward if it hadn’t been for the compulsory quarantine. Thus, taking the quarantine period as on-duty, it amounts to 150 days. On-duty call sheets signed by the Dean of R5 College were presented by the petitioner. This advances the bond period closure to January 2, 2024, from May 31, 2024.”
The petitioner and other students were required to serve on Covid duty at R5 Hospital during the pandemic, and their service during the Covid period was recognized as fulfilling their bond obligation.
The court referred to previous cases that established that Covid duty performed by students should be considered service during the bond period. The court also considered whether the quarantine period related to Covid duty should also be considered bond service, ultimately concluding that it should.
The court granted the petitioner’s request for a mandamus directing the respondents to treat the compulsory bond period as ending on January 2, 2024, and ordered R5 to return the petitioner’s original certificates. The petitioner’s request was allowed with no costs.
Case Title: Dr. Pradeep Vasudevan v. The State Of Tamil Nadu & Ors.”